After a second straight loss in a heartbreaker to the Dallas Cowboys in Week 5, the 2024 Pittsburgh Steelers are finding that running an NFL offense without a core of viable wide receivers is a struggle. Pittsburgh has the same old issues despite a new offensive coordinator and a quarterback overhaul, and the time to find a solution could be running out.
Pittsburgh Steelers Offense Has To Catch Up
While Head Coach Mike Tomlin has always preferred an old-school, defensive-minded approach to his football teams’ execution on the field, 2024 was supposed to be a step forward offensively. Through five weeks, there has been growth and a clear difference between how Matt Canada ran an offense and Arthur Smith. However, points are still scarce, which isn’t sustainable in the modern NFL. The Pittsburgh Steelers have compiled a 3-2 record, but considering the team started 3-0, the need to change direction is immediate. A daunting second half of the season in several weeks makes that all the more critical.
Points Are a Struggle Again
Smith was brought in to boost an offense that has been a painfully weak spot for the Steelers since the latter half of Ben Roethlisberger’s final season. Pittsburgh is a team built to rely on the strength of its defense while the offense plays a supporting role. Even the best defenses get hung out to dry without the offense pulling its weight, which is part of what occurred at the end of the loss to the Dallas Cowboys. The 18.4 points per game (26th in the NFL) that the Pittsburgh Steelers are scoring isn’t enough to truly compete against the upper tier of the league.
In 2023, the Pittsburgh Steelers scored 17.8 points a game (28th). 2022, it was 18.1 points (26th) and 20.2 in 2021 (21st). With a rebuilt quarterback room, a new coordinator, extensive investment in the offensive line, and adding Cordarrelle Patterson to the dual backfield of Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren, the expectations were higher than a 0.3-point improvement. Granted, it has only been five games, and Smith had a different starting quarterback than initially expected. Also, injuries erased the offensive line depth, which had been a crucial strength, but Pittsburgh needs more from the offense, plain and simple.
Confusing Receiver Moves
Needing something and being able to make it happen are two completely different things; for the Pittsburgh Steelers, that difference is a chasm. Fields has shown considerable improvement from Kenny Pickett in just five starts, with eight touchdowns (five passing and three rushing) against a single interception. He has 961 passing yards despite a severe lack of depth in the wide receiver room. George Pickens is the only one of the group that could be considered a threat to opposing defenses. He was practically invisible in the loss to Dallas (three catches on seven targets, 26 yards), which simply cannot happen with this offense.
Steelers’ receivers are the worst in the NFL at getting separation on their routes, even considering that Pickens is known as one of the best at that particular skill. Two of the top four in receiving for the 2024 Steelers are Pat Freiermuth (178 yards, 2 TDs) and Harris (119 yards). Offseason pickup Van Jefferson has caught eight passes for a meager 62 yards without a score, but he has inexplicably played more snaps in all but two games in 2024. The receiver well is shallow in Pittsburgh, and the roster’s weapons are currently not utilized as many envisioned. Both problems need rectifying before the Week 9 bye comes around.
Arrogant Or Short-Sighted
Omar Khan has impressed so far as general manager for the Pittsburgh Steelers, along with Assistant General Manager Andy Weidl, but 2024 has had some perplexing moments. Pittsburgh went into the offseason knowing receiver was an area of need. Whether it was arrogance or shortsightedness, the position still seems to be a lesser priority for the front office. Missing out on Brandon Aiyuk was embarrassing, and it had the feeling of the team’s eggs being all in one basket. Now, after five weeks, the gap between Pickens and every other receiver on the Steelers’ roster has become painfully clear.
Even the draft investment made in third-round receiver Roman Wilson is a complete question mark. The rookie has yet to play a single NFL snap despite being medically cleared since Week 3. Smith has told reporters that Wilson’s healthy scratches are due to the young player still getting into game shape after so much missed time. Pittsburgh needs to see what Wilson can do, and the team needs it sooner rather than later, especially if Pickens is going to struggle with his maturity again. It’s all hands on deck for the receivers in Pittsburgh if the offense wants to be any sort of complement to its highly-paid defense.
Steelers Desperate For Depth
There isn’t one cure-it-all answer for the Pittsburgh Steelers running game, but something that would be a much-needed catalyst for the backfield would be for opposing defenses to respect the passing attack. When defensive coordinators know they can focus most of the defense on the run, offenses become one-dimensional. Harris has been fighting off tackles behind the line of scrimmage all season, and with Warren injured, there has been less of the one-two punch the Pittsburgh Steelers planned for in 2024.
Fields has already been better than anyone expected. With the injuries and changes the team has gone through, leading the Pittsburgh Steelers to a 3-2 start is impressive in itself. If his receivers can start getting open more consistently, or even sporadically at this point, it would take a weight off the young quarterback’s shoulders. That benefit would ripple outward, and as defenses stopped crowding the box, the running game would break free more often. Then, a rested defense could close things out whenever things got dicey, as Tomlin-coached games tend to become.
Final Thoughts
Pittsburgh has three winnable games coming up. They are on the road against the Las Vegas Raiders and then at home against the New York Jets and New York Giants. A brutal, unforgiving stretch will follow the Week 9 bye, and going into that with anything below five wins would be a disaster. That is a moot point, though, if the Pittsburgh Steelers don’t find a way to either get an NFL-level of production from its receiver depth or do whatever it takes to bring in a player who can.
The question of what the 2024 Pittsburgh Steelers would do at receiver beyond Pickens isn’t one that crept up on Pittsburgh’s front office. While it might not be Aiyuk, Davante Adams, or a blue-chip draft pick, bringing in some kind of upgrade would be better late than never. There is enough talent on the roster to win games, but the goal in 2024 was to raise the bar above non-losing and aim for the top of the mountain again. Without a viable group of people to catch the football, though, the Pittsburgh Steelers will be relegated to another mid-level finish.
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